It's an interior design moment we wait for all year, the Pantone Color of the Year. This is the defining hue that takes its cues from the year behind us, and attempts to set the tone for the year ahead.

This year, the color experts at Pantone followed up on 2017's Greenery by selecting a hue that's as unexpected as it is refreshing: Ultra Violet.

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Ultra Violet, or Pantone 18-3838, is a complex, celestial shade of purple, veering toward the cooler end of the color spectrum, that calls to mind the vastness of the galaxy, the power of spirituality, and creative expression in all its forms.

What are the inspirations behind this year's color pick?

Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, tells ELLEDecor.com, that purple has rich, transcendent associations, noting," It's often associated with mindfulness practices, so it has that spiritual or mystical quality that's attached — a little bit of magic that's inferred in the color."

Its worth noting that purple has a tendency to come into vogue at important turning points in history, and that turbulent times are often, in their turn, crucibles for artistic expression. Purple was a favorite color of the Fauvists in the revolutionary first decade of the twentieth century, and had a heyday with musical artists like Jimi Hendrix in the late 60s and early 70s, at the apex of the Countercultural movement.

Could the rise of Ultra Violet in 2018 by a sign of a cultural renaissance to come? It's too early to say, but we have high hopes for this complicated, contemplative shade of purple.

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What does Ultra Violet pair with?

Eiseman explains, "Because it has both warm and cool temperatures that are inherent in it, it has more versatility than people might think it has." Not only do purples mesh together marvelously, they also serve as strong complementary colors — perhaps paired with last year's Greenery. Ultra Violet, in particular, speaks to the mutability of contemporary culture.

Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute, tells us,"There's enough blue there, that while it's provocative and stands out, there's still a stability, and there's such a versatility to this shade that it can go with so many other different colors. People are exploring and experimenting and looking for something that's original."